Masonry building wall



June 5, 1956 G. STETTER 2,7439593 MASONRY BUILDING WALL Filed Nov. 19, 1953 2 SheetE-Sheet 1 /2 1 ii-iiii INVENTOR QuQr/ ./CQUZW ORNEY June 5, 1956 G. STETTER 2,748,593

MASONRY BUILDING WALL Filed Nov. 19, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 m INVENTOR ATTORNEY MASONRY BUILDING WALL Grant Ste'tter, Falls Church, Va., 'ass ignor to Cov'erbond Corporation, Washington, D. C.,'a corporation 'of Delaware Application November 19, 1953, Serial No. 393,113

4 Claims. (Cl. 72-32) The present invention relates to building constructions, and more particularly to the masonry walls thereof.

Such walls, when made up of superposed courses .of staggeerd 'blOCks of cementitious material, such as Portland cement mixes, fired clay or terra cotta, cinder block aggregates and the like, are costly because of the very considerable amount of labor and degree of skill required to lay them up. Most of this requirement-of labor and skill is involved in the necessity of bedding the courses and joints with mortar to insure proper alignment of 'the vertically adjacent courses in accurately horizontal .and vertical planes.

The principal object of the invention is to minimize the amount of labor and the degree of skill required in laying such a wall, so as to make it possible to build a Wall quickly and inexpensively by relatively unskilled and inexperienced workmen.

A related object is to provide a novel type of block structure :which can be made at low cost and can be assembled with other identical blocks to provide a wall of indefinite height in a continuous, uninterrupted operation, i. e., without limitation to the relatively low height now required-to prevent the weight of upper courses squeezing'out the still unset mortar in recently laid lower courses.

A further object is to provide a wall of the character indicated to which an outer coating'of plastic cementitious ortlike material can be applied to cover one-or both of the vertical faces thereof to produce a finished wall of unbroken and uninterrupted surface having any desired color and texture qualities, preferably by the use of mechanicalspraying equipment which will, automatically by the :setting operation, interlock the coating layer in :joint spaces preformed between the blocks.

.Another object is to provide a block construction .pre- .formed with slots or keyways for the :reception of :keys or separator strips laid in the slots to dispose adjacent horizontal courses in accurate parallelism and at predetermined spacings for subsequent reception :of mortar.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent 11011111056 skilled in the art from the following description .of 'the preferred embodimentillustrated by the accompanying drawings, .in which Figure 1 isa'perspective view of=a wall constructed in accordance'withthe invention, showing ap'ortion of one of Ithe vertical surfaces thereof .covered by the finish coating layer;

Fig. 2 is a vertical crosssectional view of the "finished wall, on a larger scale;

Fig. 3 isaidetailvertical sectional view,ona still larger scale, showing one of the horizontal joints;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view;

Fig. 5 :is a perspective view of one of the blocks; and

Fi'g. 6 is a perspective view of a section of one of the keys or fseparator strips.

Generally speaking, the invention comprises iforming blocks of any well known cementitious or equivalent material'with accurately parallel top and bottom-surfaces,

States Patent '0 Patented June 5, 1956 2 each indented with a'pair of longitudinally extending slots or keyways, .and laying the blocks with the keyways of the iblocksof each course aligned and with the keyways of -abutting:supferposedcourses in vertical register, With a key or separator strip disposed in each of the slots, bridgingthe endwise abutting blocks of a horizontal course and penetrating the registering slots of the two superposed courses, so that the superposed courses .are spaced vertically apart for the reception of a predetermined depth oftmortar and so that the endwise abutted blocks are ac- ,curatelyaligned and the vertically superposed blocks are arranged with their vertical surfaces substantially flush.

The foregoing is accomplished, in the preferred embodiment, by casting or otherwise fabricating each block in the shape best shown in Fig. 5. As there depicted, each block 1 is formed with a top surface 2 and with abottomsurface 3 accurately parallel thereto, and with what may be regarded as a front surface 4, a back surface 5, and endsurfaces 6, 6.

The accurate parallelism of the top and bottom surfaces 2 :and 3 .may be effected by careful molding, extrusion, or-other type of forming operation, orit may be achieved by grinding the originally rough surfaces of the .blocks, after thematerial has set and fully shrunk or warped.

:It is convenient to form the block with one or'more vertical openings 7 extending completely through it, along the .mid-zone of the block, and with corresponding half openings-8 at the ends of the block, so thhat when the wall is set up, with the blocks in staggered relation as shown 'in :Fig. l, the openings will be vertically aligned and thus provide continuous passageways vertically .in the wallfor the reception of piping, electric mains and other types of conduit. Of course the openings iserve also to lighten the blocks and reduce the quantity of ma- .terial required to make them. To facilitate the casting operation, the openings may be tapered, in accordance with .the usual practice.

:Formed in each of the top and bottom surfaces 2 and 3, as by casting :in the molding operation, by grinding thereafter, or otherwise, are a pair-of longitudinal shallow and relatively narrow slots or keyways 9. These slots are accurately parallel to each other and of uniform depth and are located inwardly a .short distance from :the front and back surfaces 4 and '5, being considerably farther apart, on each of the surfaces 2-or 3, than either of :them is from the front or back surface 4 or 5. If, as .is preferred, the block contains the vertical openings 7 the slots 9 are best formed between the openings and the adjacent front or back surfaces 4 and 5, all as best shown .in Fig. 5, or at any rate so as not materially to obstruct the openings.

The slots 9 are intended to receive the vertical flanges Maud -11 of a separator strip 12 which, as best appears in Fig. .6, is best made of non-conductiveplastic or metal 'of'cross-shaped cross section, having lateral or horizontal "flanges 13, 14 extending right angularly from the median zone'or meeting plane of the vertical flanges 10, 11. The flanges '10 and '11 are of the same thickness, and this thickness is such as will fairly snugly fit the slots 9. The

.fianges 13 and 14 may be somewhat thinner, but the .two (are of equal thickness, and that thickness is predetermined to -beequal to the spacing desired between the abutting superposed courses of the blocks.

The wall is erected by laying a first course of blocks on asuitable footing or other supporting surface, on 'to whichit may be bedded by mortar in the usual manner. .The blocks of this course are set accurately end to end in accordance with familiar practice, with appropriate spacing between the abutted end surfaces 6 and with each slot .9 accurately aligned with the adjacent slot of the .next adjoining block.

Thekeys or separator strips 12 are :thenlaidin the-slots 9 by seating the lower vertical flanges 11 thereof down into the slots until the lateral flanges 13 bear on the top surfaces 2 of the blocks. The strips are formed in sections much longer than the lengths of the individual blocks, so that they bridge the vertical joints between adjacent blocks. Preferably they are cut to end about quarter way of a block, so that each vertical joint both above and below is solidly bridged by a strip.

The next course of blocks is then laid on the first course, preferably in the usual staggered relation and so that the openings 7, if such openings be provided in the blocks, are vertically aligned. In setting this second course, the blocks thereof are fitted down onto the strips 12 so that the upper vertical flange 10 of each strip fits into the adjacent slot 9 of the bottom surfaces of the blocks of the upper course, with the bottom surfaces of those blocks seated down on the lateral flanges 13, 14 of the strips.

The result is an accurate alignment of the respective horizontal surfaces 2 and 3 of the two courses, and accurate spacing of them at a distance equal to the thickness of the flanges 13, 14 of the separator strips, and an accurate alignment of the respective front and rear sur faces 4 and 5 of the blocks.

The wall is thus set in completely dry form, no mortar being used. The wall is laid quickly because no time is consumed in handling and spreading any mortar and no time is consumed in gauging, plumbing and otherwise aligning the blocks, since proper and accurate alignment is automatically effected by simply positioning the slots on the bottom surface of each newly laid block onto the upstanding flanges of the strips projecting from an already laid block.

Moreover, there is no limit to the height to which a wall may be laid in any single continuous operation because there is no mortar in any of the lower courses that must be given time to set to prevent its being squeezed out by the weight of superposed courses.

After any convenient height and length of Wall has been laid in the dry manner which has just been explained, mortar may be applied to the joints. This involves inserting a suitable mix into the horizontally extending spaces between adjacent upper and lower courses (the width of which has been determined by the thickness of the fianges 13 and 14) and into the vertical spaces 16 (the width of which has been established manually by the mason). While this mortaring operation can be performed by the use of hand implements such as trowels, I prefer to perform it mechanically by spraying a suitable mortar mix under pressure into the joints, so that no difficulty will be experienced in running the mortar from one of the outer surfaces 4 or 5 of the block fully up to the adjacent strip 12 in finishing the horizontal joints 15. This is easily accomplished by pressure spraying or nozzling.

The mortar may be applied solely to the joints and thereafter trimmed or tooled out. However, I prefer to spread the mortar not only into the joints but over the adjacent vertical surfaces 4 and/or 5 of the blocks as well to form the coating layer shown at 17. This may be, and preferably is, accomplished in a single spraying operation, but it is to be understood that the vertical coating layer may be applied after the mortaring operation. In either case the vertical layer and the mortar in the joints become integrally united so that the coating is firmly held in place on the wall and becomes in effect an integral part thereof.

The mortar and/or the coating layer can be provided in any desired texture and color. Thus the wall requires no painting and is superior to a pointed Wall because no amount of chiping or scratching of the surface coating will alter the solid color of the wall.

While metal is preferred as the material of which the strips or keys 12 are made, it will be obvious that they may equally well be extruded or otherwise formed of adequately rigid plastic composition. Similarly the particular material of which the blocks are made is not critical. While moldable compositions are preferred because of their wide acceptance for economical building operations, it will be recognized that block of natural quarried stone are quite capable of having the necessary slots 9 routed or otherwise cut into their top and bottom surfaces and of being used in the new combination.

The invention is subject to embodiment in other and further modified forms, all of which are deemed to be within its scope ad purview to the extent that they embody the principles thereof as pointed out by the broader of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A building wall comprising a plurality of blocks each having a pair of accurately parallel top and bottom planar seating surfaces and having front and back faces, each of said top and bottom seating surfaces having a. continuous substantially smooth surfaced longitudinal slot of rectangular cross section extending the full length of the block adjacent to but spaced inwardly from each of said front and back faces and being parallel to and spaced from each other, said blocks being disposed in superposed hori zontal courses with the slots of endwise adjacent blocks of each course horizontally aligned and communicating with the top and bottom slots of vertically juxtaposed blocks of adjacent courses in vertical register, separator strips of rigid material of cruciform cross section disposed in said aligned and registering slots, each strip having upper and lower continuous vertical flanges of respectively the same thickness as the transverse width of the lower and upper block surface slots and seated in the respective slots and each strip having also two opposed longitudinally extending lateral flanges each having a planar top surface and a planar bottom surface seated respectively on said bottom and top seating surfaces of vertically juxtaposed blocks so as to separate the blocks of adjacent horizontal courses in vertical spaced relationship, said strips being separate and unconnected with each other and each extending continuously along a plurality of blocks forming a pair of adjacent horizontal courses and bridging a plurality of vertical joints and mortar filling the areas of said inter-block spaces between the front face of each block and the adjacent strip and between the back face of each block and the adjacent strip.

2. The combination claimed in claim 1, including a coating layer of set plastic material disposed on the face of said wall comprised of the aligned front faces of said blocks, said coating layer penetrating the vertical joints between horizontally adjacent blocks and being united with the mortar filling the horizontal spaces between the blocks.

3. A building wall comprising a plurality of blocks each having a vertical opening therethrough and a pair of accurately parallel top and bottom planar seating surfaces and having front and back faces, each of said top and bottom seating surfaces having a pair of continuous substantially smooth surfaced longitudinal slots of rectangular cross section extending the full length of the block, said slots being disposed on opposite sides of said vertical opening and said blocks being laid in superposed horizontal courses with each of the four slots of each endwise adjacent pair of blocks of each course horizontally aligned with another slot of said pair and communicating therewith and with each of the two top surface slots of each horizontal course disposed in vertical register with one of the bottom surface slots of the next adjacent horizontal course, separator strips of rigid material of cruciform cross section disposed in said aligned and registering slots, each strip having upper and lower continuous vertical flanges of respectively the same thickness as the transverse width of the lower and upper block surface slots and seated in the respective slots and each strip having also two opposed longitudinally extending lateral flanges each having a planar top surface and a planar bottom surface seated respectively on said bottom and top seating surfaces of vertically juxtaposed blocks so as to separate the blocks of adjacent horizontal courses in vertically spaced relationship, said strips being separate and unconnected with each other and each extending continuously along a plurality of blocks forming a pair of adjacent horizontal courses and bridging a plurality of vertical joints and mortar filling the areas of said inter-block spaces between the front face of each block and the adjacent strip and between the back face of each block and the adjacent strip.

4. The combination claimed in claim 3, including a coating layer of set plastic material disposed on the face of said wall comprised of the aligned front faces of said blocks, said coating layer penetrating the vertical joints between horizontally adjacent blocks inwardly from the front faces of said blocks and being united with the mortar filling the horizontal spaces between the blocks of ad- 15 jacent courses between the front faces of said blocks and the adjacent strip.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 312,464 Harwood Feb. 17, 1885 511,809 Sessions Jan. 2, 1894 641,670 Blazo Jan. 23, 1900 1,150,967 Robinson Aug. 24, 1915 1,862,323 Straub June 7, 1932 2,311,628 Andrews Feb. 23, 1943 2,325,653 Bingham Aug. 3, 1943 2,676,482 Wilson Apr. 27, 1954 

